Juicing has seen a bit of an increase in popularity recently. Partly because of ‘cleanse’ style diets (generally not particularly good for you, but that’s for a whole other blog post) and people trying to find easy ways to ingest their five a day. Or seven a day. Or ten a day, or whatever the research suggests next time around.
How popular is it? Vastly – enough that at a workshop I attended, Introjuicing with Curry’s, there were a lot of bloggers in the room.
Just look at that smart phone action.
And how much fruit and veg do all these bloggers need?
A lot. Enough to maybe fill a small greengrocers.
I was curious. I’ve seen machines demonstrated on TV, infomercials, cookery shows, but not in real life. How noisy are they? How big are they? What can you juice? What tastes good? What is good for you? Is there any benefit to them really? Time to find out.
We were treated to a mocktail on arrival (not a hint of fizz at this one) which included cucumber, beetroot, pineapple and lime. The beetroot added a touch of earthiness, whilst the lime and the sweetness from the pineapple balanced it off.
After introductions, we were all split into groups so we could wander among the stations and try everything from Rocket Yoga, to juicing our own and experimenting with adding extra goodness to our juices. And this was where I headed first.
Shakela of NutriShan was on hand to talk us through suitable options to add to your juices. Our sample to play with was the Tropical Digestion Aid. Made of ¼ pineapple (skin removed), 1 apple, a handful of kale, ½ lemon (peeled or not, but skin makes it more bitter), and ½ inch of ginger, she then added a little coconut water for sweetness.
I was delicious and what’s more, even with a good spoon of supergreens and matcha tea, it was still delicious. Can’t stand drinking green tea, or downing those supergreens in a shot in the morning, then this would be a great option.
Suitably impressed, when it came to making our own, we were inspired. Carrots, kale and cucumber were gathered alongside hunks of pineapple, apples and citrus. The machines are ridiculously easy to use. power on, remove the plunger, throw everything in a bit at a time and push down.
The one draw back that I can see, aside from the cleaning obviously, is the noise. They’re not quiet machines. They’re about the same level as a good blender, so you’re not necessarily going to be wanting to power this up at 6am for your breakfast – especially if like me you live in a flat. The neighbours, let alone Mr GFB might not approve.
I got giddy and my own combination of carrot, pineapple, lime, spinach and apple created much more than my little cup would allow. And again, tasted great. Sweet, nutty and fresh.
I could get used to this.
Of course, all this health came at a price, but a small one. The Rocket Yoga session. Luckily, we’d all dressed for the part and the fabulous Amanda from Yoga Elementz took us through a series of flows and poses, in a faster and more dynamic way than your standard yoga class.
The whole afternoon was a blissfully healthy one and though I’m not 100% sure about buying a juicer yet, as these appliances keep getting smaller, quieter and easier to clean, I’m certainly not ruling it out.
If you fancy giving some of the juices we tried a go for yourself, I’ve popped some of the recipes below and they could too be adapted to work in a smoothie too. And if you fancy investigating juicers, you can find a good selection here.
Radiance Skin Juice: 2-3 carrots, 1 apple, 1 red pepper, ½ inch ginger root, ½ teaspoon of flaxseed oil.
Salad Blend: 1 tomato, 1 celery stalk, ½ cucumber, ½ red pepper (seeds removed), pinch of cayenne pepper and pink Himalayan salt.
Energy and Sports Recovery: 1 beetroot, ½ lemon (peeled), ½ cucumber, handful of spinach, handful of berries, ¼ teaspoon matcha green tea powder.
Enjoy!